Rescue groups struggle with high sea lion toll

April 1, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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A small sea lion pup stares up from the floor of one of the enclosures at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach. Desperate Paws of Orange County Dog Club, a group of South County dog rescuers, have organized a product and donation drive to help the overwhelmed center deal with the surge of sea lions needing rescue. More than 130 of the pups have been picked up by the center this spring. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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One of several rooms with sea lion pups rescued from the wild at Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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One of the more than 130 sea lion pups rescued by the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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One of the malnourished sea lion pups gnaws on the chain link gate of an enclosure at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Little pieces of tape with each animal's name and code number show how many sea lion pups are in each cage. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Fourteen sea lion pups occupy one of the several rooms for them at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A sea lion pup eats a piece of herring from a bowl during feeding time at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Krysta Higuchi, a volunteer at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, gets ready to feed several of the sea lion pups. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Two of the older sea lion pups that have been rehabilitated play in one of the center's pools. They will soon be released back into the wild. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

A small sea lion pup stares up from the floor of one of the enclosures at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach. Desperate Paws of Orange County Dog Club, a group of South County dog rescuers, have organized a product and donation drive to help the overwhelmed center deal with the surge of sea lions needing rescue. More than 130 of the pups have been picked up by the center this spring. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

LAGUNA BEACH – P.J., a tawny brown-colored sea lion pup, huddled against several other pups in one of seven intensive care units at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center.

The pup, weighing just 15 pounds, was found Friday at Crescent Bay in Laguna Beach barely clinging to life. He was covered with abscesses and appeared severely dehydrated. In the last four days, he's been re-hydrated and is starting to improve.

"He's the tiniest little sea lion I've ever seen," said Keith Matassa, executive director at the Laguna Beach-based marine mammal rescue center. "It just tugs at your heartstrings. A month ago they were coming in at 25 pounds. Normally at six to nine months, they weigh around 65 pounds."

The same day P.J. was found the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service declared a state of emergency, calling the sea lion stranding stretching between Mexico and Santa Barbara an "unusual mortality event."

Since Saturday, 11 more sea lions were rescued from the strand in San Clemente, Dana Point, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach and Seal Beach. The Pacific Marine Mammal Center has 136 pups in intensive care. Others not in immediate threat were triaged at the beaches, Matassa said. The first pups were found in January. In the past two weeks, those numbers have spiked, Matassa said.

NOAA scientists are trying to figure out what it causing the die-off by examining dead animals, said Lauren Saez, a NOAA Fisheries biologist. Marine biologists wonder whether the mass stranding could be a natural die-off or if there are other external causes.

In response to the emergency, Desperate Paws of Orange County Dog Club, a group with more than 1,400 members countywide, has put out pleas on social networking sites calling for other animal rescue groups to aid the marine mammal center and save the sea lions.

"Marine life is very important," said Stephen Terry, who founded Desperate Paws in 2010. "The entire ecosystem is off on our coast. We've already lost half of the sea lions born this year in the ocean. Now we're losing them on the beaches. We need to get them back into the water."

Terry is asking for people to donate liquid Tide HE, nonflavored Pedialyte and gasoline cards to help the rescue units drive to the stranding locations. The Tide is needed to launder hundreds of towels and blankets and Pedialyte is used to help rehydrate the pups. Once they respond to a liquid diet, they're worked up to a shake filled with bits of fish, Matassa said.

Sharkey's Woodfired Mexican Grill locations in Newport Beach, Aliso Viejo, Tustin and Irvine are also helping. The restaurant will donate 25 percent of pre-tax sales to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center for people who bring in the flier announcing the Desperate Paws/Sharkey's fundraiser.

In 2011, Terry asked Orange County pet groups to help feed dogs and cats in Japan after the earthquake and tsunami. In three weeks, hundreds responded and more than 40,000 pounds of food and supplies were sent to the devastated nation.

"We're getting a good response and were hoping to collect enough to cover" the marine mammal center, Terry said. "I've always had a basic motto: Whenever I used to say, 'Someone should help,' I realized that someone was me. It's really about taking action and paying it forward."

Matassa, who for 30 years has worked at rehabilitation facilities around the country, said he's never witnessed such a community outpouring.

"It's amazing," he said. "I've even told my friends and colleagues across the country about it. Being in animal rescue, they know how many supplies a group can go through in an emergency."

Matassa said each day the center's phone lines are jammed with reports of stranded animals. Thirty sea lions have been transferred to the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito. But the local rescue center is also releasing animals that have recovered. Since the beginning of the stranding in the end of January, at least 30 sea lions have been released by the rescue group. Matassa said most pups are kept about five to six weeks before they are healthy enough to be released. The group is also getting satellite tags to attach to the animals to record where they are going for food.

SeaWorld San Diego, Fort MacArthur in San Pedro, Santa Barbara Marine Mammal Center and Channel Islands Marine and Wildlife Institute near Santa Barbara are also taking in sea lions.

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